John Marzan on "Determining factors"

John Marzan — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:15:55 +0100

Quote:

Muslims constitute only 5% of the total population of the Philippines, but are in the majority in stretches of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.

He's right. Muslims constitute 5% of the total population of the Philippines, AND constitute only 20.4% of the population in Mindanao (based on 2000 census, and i don't think these figures have changed that much from 2000 to 2007). But yes, they are the majority "in stretches of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago." And by recognizing that fact, the Philippine gov't tried to settle that with the MNLF with the 1996 Peace Plan.

Quote:

[The independent Philippines only continued the policy of encouraging Christian migration into Mindanao (to the extent that Muslims are now in the minority on the island), leading to an escalation of communal tensions and, after the Jabidah massacre under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the outbreak of armed rebellion and civil war in the 1970s between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the military along with its levied Christian militias. At least 65,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then.]

I don't know if the RP gov't encouraged Christians to settle in Mindanao, but I do know the Philippines have a very high birth rate. And I've never heard of or seen any RP gov't policy of genocide or making refugees out of Mindanao Muslims--like wipe out a population in the area to allow christian filipinos to settle the land. Sure, there were atrocities from the military under marcos, but there were also atrocities and terrorist acts conducted by the MNLF and MILF on civilian populations. To my mind, the solution to the Mindanao problem is very simple. Hold a referendum on Mindanao (read #10, and yeah, like East Timor) , and the results should be respected by Muslim and Christian counterparts. And no more breakaway MNLF, MILF, MWLF, MZLF groups. But I'm afraid the MILF won't accept the offer because, they'll only get approximately 20% of Mindanao, and obviously, that's not good enough.

Determining factors, Abhoud Syed M. Lingga

KVB Tharoor — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:57:26 +0100

Editor's note: Global attention shifted briefly this week to the south of the Philippines, when 14 soldiers were killed in clashes with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Yet, despite this incident and the violence that has shaken the restive and impoverished - but resource-rich - south of the country in recent months, both the government and MILF remain committed to a long, stumbling peace process. The application of the right to self-determination to the Muslims of the south remains a thorny and contentious issue. Abhoud Syed M. Lingga, Chairman of the Bangsamoro People's Consultative Assembly, argues that the very application of the principle can be a solution, not an impediment, to the task of resolving decades of conflict.

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open Democracy News Analysis - Determining factors, Abhoud Syed M. Lingga - Comments

John Marzan on "Determining factors"

Determining factors, Abhoud Syed M. Lingga